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Life hacks for the little extra $$$

American football broadcaster and former player, coach, and executive Jimmy Johnson once said that “the difference between ordinary and extraordinary is that little extra.” That “little extra” comes when you don’t settle for conventions.

While it is conventional to work five days in a week, “The 4‑Hour Work Week” author Timothy Ferriss believes that it’s possible to gain much more by working much less. In the book, Ferriss shares that in order for you to truly achieve your goals and dreams, you have to be a lot more efficient with the use of your time and money, and this is possible through two interesting life hacks: a muse and a VA.

Muse

It is common for us to think that doing business is time-consuming, but Ferriss believes that businesses do not have to kill so much of your time and effort. This is possible through a muse. A muse is basically an online business, a money‑generating vehicle that will allow you to earn without having to spend as much time as an 8‑5 job. Having an online business will allow you to reach more people and gain more customers because the world is your market and you can earn in multiple currencies. You are not bound by a geographical location and you can work on the business remotely. Location and time freedom for you, automated income for your finances. Definitely a win‑win situation.

Virtual Assistant (a.k.a. VA)

Aside from a muse, Ferriss advocates for outsourcing your life by hiring a VA. The VA will work on the day-to-day while you work on the big picture of the business. Having a VA and delegating tasks will get you to save time and money, and will liberate you from the daily worries that someone else can do for you. Not only does this give you the freedom you need, but also disciplines you to work more efficiently and responsibly.

We actually took Ferriss’ advice and got ourselves VAs. Our VAs develop our website, maintain our social media accounts, create and manage our Facebook ads, write for us, design for us, and sometimes, even reply to emails for us. Because of this, we save a lot of our time and we then get to focus on the actual meat of our business. Talk about working smart, right?

Like many life hacks we often hear and see, Ferriss shares with us some tips that will get our businesses and lives rolling in the most efficient of ways. However, it is still important to note that while these hacks could work for him and for us, results and experiences will differ for each person. We recommend that you try these out and get to learn more of what works for your experiences and businesses to find your most efficient hacks. More than anything, Ferriss invites all of us to be as adventurous and brave as he, because who knows, that little life hack, that little extra might just be your key to becoming extraordinary.

Clarissa Seriña‑de la Paz and Sharon W. Que are financial literacy advocates and the bestselling authors of “I Wish They Taught Money in School” and “Money Grows on Trees.” Check out their books at www.lifestyleupgrade101.com.